Breathing re-education

Breathing is the first thing we do as we enter the world and the last thing we do as we leave the world. On average we complete 25 000 breath cycles a day and we can only survive a few minutes without air. As this is such an important function of the body how much time and attention do you spend on your breathing? Have you been taught the most efficient way to breathe that brings balance to the body and mind?

Breathing is an automatic function that does not generally require conscious control. Modern living is pushing us away from living as we have been biologically programmed to live and as a consequence increasing number of individuals are not breathing as nature intended. Breathing regulates all our unconscious processes (e.g. our circulation, hormones, digestion, movement, sleep, nervous system) therefore inefficient breathing habits may impact our physical and mental health. At the bottom of the page one of my patients has given permission to share their journey on how they resolved their medically unexplained symptoms by improving their breathing efficiency.

How we breathe whilst resting, moving and sleeping matters.

We can change how we breathe.

Symptoms suggestive of inefficient breathing:

Breathlessness

Heavy breathing through the night or snoring

Breathing through the mouth (day or night)

Audible breathing during rest

Frequent sighing, sniffing or yawning

Holding the breath

Large breaths prior to talking

Noticeable breathing

Fast or irregular breathing

Click to read about other symptoms

Observe your breathing over the next week.

Do you have any of these symptoms?

Inefficient breathing contributes to a wide variety of symptoms or conditions:

Hayfever, sinusitis, rhinitis, blocked nose,
Asthma, chronic bronchitis

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

Breathlessness, reduced exercise capacity

Long covid

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS)

ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis)

CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)

Chronic pain
Anxiety, stress. panic disorder

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
Snoring, sleep apnoea, insomnia

PMS (premenstrual syndrome)

PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)

Fertility

Menopause

Dental health

Medically unexplained symptoms (blog post)

It is never too late to retrain your body to breath efficiently and effectively

The results can be life changing and include improved oxygen delivery, dilation of the airways in the lungs, reduced breathlessness, reduced blood pressure, calmer state of mind, reduced effort involved during movement and improvements in sleep, focus, concentration and energy levels.

Principles of breathing re-education:

Biochemical – addressing blood sensitivity to carbon dioxide
Biomechanical – using breathing muscles correctly
Psychophysiological – slowing speed of breathing in order to influence the autonomic functioning of the body and bring calmness to the mind
Nasal breathing during wakefulness, sleep and movement

I am here to help you ‘be the best you can be’.

Available programmes

'Having had several years of suffering a variety of symptoms (pins & needles all limbs and left side of face, weight loss, gut issues) that basically was making my life pretty miserable, and having had many doctor/hospital appointments for a wide selection of tests with no diagnosis made I had given up hope and started to put up with the situation thinking there was no help available.

When it got to a stage where I was only getting 3 hours sleep a night I was exhausted and could not carry on, I decided to go back to the doctors.

Thankfully I saw Dr Oliver who suggested it may help me if I took part in a breathing exercise seminar as the problems I was having could be connected by me not breathing correctly.

Initially I thought how bizarre what a strange thing to suggest but was so desperate I was happy to try anything so accepted her offer of a free place.

Well what can I say, by doing the seminar it became very apparent that I definitely had a problem with my breathing (my comfortable breath hold time was only 3.5 seconds*) even though I didn't feel breathless. I followed the exercises given which were easy to do and within a very short time my symptoms started to ease and eventually ceased, I was having between 6 and 8 hours quality sleep a night, that in itself was fantastic. I cannot thank Dr Oliver enough for her recommendations'

*click to assess your comfortable breath hold time and breathing efficiency